the Stardust Thief ~ Chelsea Abdullah

SYNOPSIS: Inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, The Stardust Thief weaves the gripping tale of a legendary smuggler, a cowardly prince and a dangerous quest across the desert to find a magical lamp.

Neither here nor there, but long ago...

Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp.

With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan's oldest son to find the artefact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen and confront a malicious killer from Loulie's past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything - her enemy, her magic, even her own past - is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.

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The Stardust Thief ~ Chelsea Abdullah Genre: Fantasy (inspired by Publishers: Orbit (UK) Release date: 19th May (UK) Rating: 20/22

This is a book I want to immediately go back and read again, just to see if I can spot any foreshadowing or easter eggs. Stories within stories are my favourite kind of Fantasy reads, and The Stardust Thief does this so well. Inspired by the tales from One Thousand and One Nights, the author found interesting and refreshing ways to bring those stories in, that felt innovative and mesmerising. I adored the writing and loved being immersed in the world of jinns and magic and fantastical stories. We follow 3 POVs Loulie; a seller of magical relics, Mazen a quiet prince who is more interested in stories of far away places than the charmed life he leads. And Aisha, one of the infamous 40 thieves who hunt jinns. As the story progresses though they each begin to question if that is all they truely are or if they all have something more in them. I loved the journey we went on with the characters and found them extremely compelling and was happy to be in whichever character's chapter I found myself in. The plot was rich and more complex than I was expecting and it astonishes me that this the authors debut. I am both excited and impatient to know this is a trilogy as I love knowing there is more to come but I also wish I could have books 2 and 3 already in my hands! Thank you to @orbitbooks_uk for my proof copy and stunning pin.